By Norma Dollaga

Deaconess Rubylin Litao is my co-worker. The Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), and Kapatrang Simbahan Para sa Bayan (Kasimbayan), our episcopal assignment initiated the formation of Rise Up for Life and for Rights (Rise Up). The ecumenical community, journalists, human rights defenders supported this. But it is the families of the victims of “war on drugs” that make up the Rise Up.

We are deaconesses of the United Methodist Church (UMC). We were trained by our school Harris Memorial College, where we were taught to live a simple life and to be diligent, hard-working, faithful in serving God, the church and community. It is by grace that we have been led to harmonize our faith with the struggle of the people. We are grateful for the communities from whom we learn so much about their daily hopes, dreams and aspirations. That most of the things we take for granted like food, water, bathroom, sleeping bed, are precious to the least of our siblings. Our destino or episcopal assignment led us to activism that nourished our resolve to carry on the work without expecting a reward, recognition, material compensation or benefits. As we are exposed to the life and journey of the poor, we are directed to the understanding and wisdom of faith, hope and love.

We cannot afford and we cannot flaunt LV bags. Why would we purchase luxury bags while we cannot even afford health insurance?

Going on international trips has never been a career path but an engagement, so the stories and the demand for justice will be heeded. There are times when we would borrow a maleta/suitcase, or we would be given hand-me-down luggage, jackets, and clothes. We would usually have with us 3-in-one instant coffee, biscuits, bread, candies, which we consider as precious items to survive the high cost of food in Europe. Some friends would host and treat us. Recently, I bought the cheapest medium-sized bag as I was afraid my shoulder bones might break from carrying things. It was the suitcase Sheerah used. We are praying that the luggage wheels will not give up, or its outer shell will break.

Despite limited resources, we do not pity ourselves; humor saves us as always. We know that our purpose in attending international events is to represent the people on the ground. We keep on praying that we become worthy to represent the hopes and struggles of the people. The AI and fake news spread by Cathy Binag is a sheer example of how lies cannot stand side by side with truth. It fabricated an image that advocates and victims are living an extravagant life, revealed in their bags.

When PCPR, KASIMBAYAN, and the ecumenical community organized Rise Up, they did not think of the danger of troll attacks. We did our work, humble as they may be because we believe that people deserve truth, justice and accountability. We visited the families with our backpacks ( not LV), trod the narrow alleys to meet the grieving families, wept with them, prayed with them, listened attentively to their hope that justice will be served. The intent of the malicious photo edit is clearly to divert the attention of the victims, advocates, those standing up for the truth.

The fight for TRUTH, Justice and Accountability cannot be trivialized with designer bags and fake news. The followers of Duterte want to divert the attention, devastate the morale of the victims who are fighting, and stigmatize those who are pursuing justice. Let us focus our attention on how Truth, Justice and Accountability will benefit the poor victims and all of humanity.

*The author is a deaconess of the United Methodist Church. For her work in Rise Up for Life and for Rights, she was declared as the 2024 World Methodist Council Peace Awardee.

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